]]>https://loudng.wordpress.com/2016/12/09/crowdfunding-as-a-viable-means-of-business-financing/
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 04:46:30 +0000loudnghttps://loudng.wordpress.com/2016/12/09/crowdfunding-as-a-viable-means-of-business-financing/https://thegreatpenguini.wordpress.com/2016/12/08/odd-dragon-thoughts-crowdfunding/
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 04:16:31 +0000The Great Penguinihttps://thegreatpenguini.wordpress.com/2016/12/08/odd-dragon-thoughts-crowdfunding/Oh, the auto-guess on this phone knows me too well. I do the hashtag (for us older folk, also called a pound sign), and it gives me #crowdfunding. Cat is still on my lap, so here goes a short-ish post.

I’ve lived in my current place for 7.5 years. We have casement style windows. The problem is that the living room window is really too large for being casement style (these are the kind that open from the side). They’re either double or triple paned (so, thick and heavier than older windows). Every winter, I have to ask the maintenance guy to jimmy it and get it locked. The weight of the window doesn’t let the lock parts meet up. The bedroom window is a bit smaller and doesn’t have the same problem. It’s frustrating having to do this every year, but it’s a design flaw. I grew up with the same style in my bedroom. The window in question is 5 feet tall and 2.5-3 feet wide for the side that opens. The bedroom one is narrower.

I give JoJo latitude for laptime because she’s my grumpy 14 year old (15 in March) girl who used to hate belly rubs and burrowing under the covers and now loves having her belly fur “massaged” and burrows under my blankets at least a few times a week. That was a habit her baby brother Jack did. He also loved belly noogies. If you pet his belly nicely, your hand got attacked. If you did an aggressive belly fur ruffling, he’d writhe side to side loving it. He was my ham.

He went into acute renal failure a few days after my birthday in 2010. Surgery was out of my budget and quality of life was questionable at best. I’ll have to do a full post on him one of these rounds. Pics and all, which are on the other computer (yes, using the phone still, but the chromebook doesn’t have access to his pics). I miss that monster. I held him in my arms as he passed away in peace. 8 years old and far too young. Even for a cat.

The funny thing is that both girls have picked up some of his behaviors. JoJo I would expect, but Portia? I adopted her a few weeks later at roughly 4-5 years old. She never knew him.

Amyway, now I’m trying not to cry. I do miss that scamp.

Battery is getting low on the phone… and there’s an orange cat on my lap.

~Dragon

]]>https://globalnews.ca/news/3116262/we-are-changing-the-way-that-people-are-giving-gofundme-ceo/
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 02:29:15 +0000hugjodihttps://globalnews.ca/news/3116262/we-are-changing-the-way-that-people-are-giving-gofundme-ceo/According to Rob Solomon, CEO of GoFundMe, his company is changing the way that people are thinking about giving.

More than three billion dollars has been donated through the GoFundMe crowd-funding webpage since it was created in 2010.

Solomon believes the success of GoFundMe can be traced to two basic principles, “People want to give when people need help.”

And Solomon believes his platform democratizes the concept of organized giving. You used to have to be a non-profit to raise the type of money that is being raised on their platform. Now anyone can achieve that same level of successful fundraising.

However, GoFundMe was not an overnight success story.

“It took five years for the first billion dollars to be donated on the platform. Nine months after that we got to two billion and eight months after that we got to three billion.”

How safe is it?

Solomon told Global News they have a number of measures in place to ensure campaigns are legitimate.

“One-tenth of one per cent of our campaigns have some kind of issue related to fraud or bad actors,” Solomon says, also pointing to the fact that GoFundMe has a guarantee that will protect anyone who does donate, up to one thousand dollars.

“People are smart, and they’ll donate to causes that really need the help.”

Solomon said there are ways to differentiate legitimate versus frivolous campaigns, including looking at who has donated to a particular cause.

“Whenever a campaign is started, the first people who give or the first people who see a campaign are those people who know something about the beneficiary, the person who’s going to receive the money.”

“So you’ll see causes that don’t really raise funds and those are the ones that may not be as worthy.”

How does GoFundMe affect traditional charities and not-for-profit groups?

“Many people will raise money on behalf of a (charity) and use our platform. We like to call it social fundraising versus crowd-funding.”

That approach allows more people to be exposed to a specific charity and often GoFundMe will see a viral aspect to those campaigns, as word can spread online without barriers.

Solomon said platforms like his appeal to more than just millennials. He says these days few people respond to traditional solicitation methods like door-to-door fundraising or telemarketing.

Social fundraising campaigns through places like GoFundMe can also help a charities’ bottom line. According to Solomon, non-profit groups can spend anywhere from five to 30 per cent of their budget on fundraising.

GoFundMe today and tomorrow

Currently GoFundMe is used in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Canada is the second largest GoFundMe market in the world right now, behind the USA where it was created.

Globally Solomon said you’ll see hundreds of thousands of causes that get funded through GoFundMe each month, and over two million people donating to causes each month through GoFundMe.

GoFundMe plans to move into western Europe next with the company hoping to be set up in 25 to 30 countries by 2020.

]]>https://thegreatpenguini.wordpress.com/2016/12/08/crowdfunding-with-a-cat-on-my-lap/
Fri, 09 Dec 2016 02:13:31 +0000The Great Penguinihttps://thegreatpenguini.wordpress.com/2016/12/08/crowdfunding-with-a-cat-on-my-lap/Someone (pictured) won’t let me use my computer. So, I’m using the wifi-only smartphone. Granted, I haven’t checked email, but I have little time to gather rent funds. More posts to come… when typing is a little easier.
]]>https://consumerist.com/2016/12/08/your-pebbles-warranty-is-void-now-even-if-its-new/
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 22:56:05 +0000Laura Northruphttps://consumerist.com/2016/12/08/your-pebbles-warranty-is-void-now-even-if-its-new/The way that smart watch company Pebble is going out of business isn’t what we’re used to seeing: instead of officially filing for bankruptcy first or being fully acquired by another firm, Pebble sold only its software assets to Fitbit. The end of Pebble as a company means that the warranties on its devices are now done, too: even new devices that you might have just purchased.

What does that mean? Here’s what you should know about the fall of Pebble.

If you’ve purchased a new Pebble device recently: If you’ve recently purchased a watch from the company, it means that you have an important choice: you can either keep it and hope that it has no hardware problems that you can’t fix yourself, or return it to the retailer. This will depend on the retailer’s return policies, of course.

If you already owned a watch that was still under warranty: Um, it isn’t anymore.

If you backed the project on Kickstarter, you’ve most likely already received an email with information about your pledge, but let’s lay things out for everyone else in the audience as a cautionary tale about crowdfunding.

If you backed the most recent Kickstarter campaign and chose a Pebble 2: If you received your Pebble 2, you’re doubly stuck: you can’t return the device, and there will be no warranty support available for it. The good news is that you’ll have a super sad story to share with people who admire your watch. Wait, is that good news?

If you backed the most recent Kickstarter campaign and chose any other device: You’ll receive a refund: While initial reports were that the refunds may not be issued for a few months, Pebble now reports that Kickstarter refunds will be issued within about a week.

If you own any Pebble device: Be prepared for it to stop working, since the cloud-based services for the watches have been passed on to Fitbit, which will probably not keep them going indefinitely. “No immediate changes to the Pebble user experience will happen at this time,” the company assures users, but it’s the “at this time” part that’s important.

The Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success is organizing this crowdfunding campaign and the goal is simple: Raise $20,000 to help purchase Fresh Start Farms in Dunbarton, NH. This 50+ acre parcel of land offers refugee farmers a place to live and grow food. These farmers have been working hard on the land for five years and want to make it permanent. Consider a donation to help them out!

Are there any processes and actions which do not easily translate to digital? Do these processes and actions present challenges in keeping the customer engaged throughout the customer journey, if so why?

How do firms monitor and review the way in which customers interact digitally? How does this inform your oversight of the effectiveness of the functionality from a customer outcomes perspective?

Closing date for comments is 11 January 2017.

]]>https://thegreatpenguini.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/quick-crowdfunding-emergency-begging-post/
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 06:06:22 +0000The Great Penguinihttps://thegreatpenguini.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/quick-crowdfunding-emergency-begging-post/#crowdfunding and all that jazz…. I’m still in urgent need of funds for rent and to save storage…. I’ll get served with the 72 hour notice tomorrow for rent. $800 to cover that and I need to check on storage (I know it’ll be damn close to 500 with fees and two months rent). Spread the word, share whatever posts of mine you wish, even the personal one I just posted. Just add a message that help is needed before the weekend is out. Share, donate if you can. At this point, PayPal will likely be better than GFM, as that’s instant and GFM is definitely not.

I keep trying. I do feel like I’m stuck in some thick mud and can’t get anywhere. But I am trying.

Thank you.

~Amanda/Dragon/Penguin

]]>https://thegreatpenguini.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/i-was-called-brave-today-crowdfunding/
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 05:51:31 +0000The Great Penguinihttps://thegreatpenguini.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/i-was-called-brave-today-crowdfunding/I was called brave today. This isn’t the first time I’ve been called that. Friends have said it and today, the doctor I saw called me that. I don’t see myself as brave for standing up and speaking out about my past. The sexual assaults I never reported to the police. I feared they wouldn’t believe me, so I just went to therapy.

Eventually, I told my dad about it. I didn’t tell my mother because she was the one whose idea of a “birds and the bees” talk was buying me a book that looked like it was meant for a 6 year old, not a 12 year old who had just started her period. No words, just the book and a box of pads. This coming from a woman who hit menopause not long after I was born. But that’s how it was.

My dad, though… he was my ear. He heard me. Even before I told him about what my ex did, he knew something was wrong. When I broke up with the bastard, he harassed me at home, on the phone, on campus (college). I clearly remember one time he came to the house and I was stuck. The old house was structured and remodeled in such a way that my bedroom windows (with curtains open that day) were right next to the front door. I couldn’t go hide elsewhere in the house because there was a doorway just past the front door and I didn’t have enough time to go anywhere and hide. I could only plaster myself against the wall between my bedroom door and that doorway and try not to make any noise. My dad refused to let him inside. What was likely no more than a few minutes felt like an eternity. Moving wasn’t an option until the door was closed and we heard his motorcycle start up and leave.

While we both technically moved on, he discovered he could still hold some power over me via the internet. While I have no interest in going into all the details here, it still hasn’t stopped completely. Not in the 22 years since I broke up with the bastard.

In the last few years, I’ve felt a change. I know I have gone from living in fear to being resilient. And yet… things happen that still, even a few weeks ago, trigger memories. The kind of memories one doesn’t want to remember. Ones triggered by touch, by some behaviors, but not always others.

I am not the same person I was 22 years ago. I was not brave then. I hid. I ran. I avoided. I lived in fear of looking over my shoulder. I realized, after writing a character who was looking over her own shoulder in fear over something else, I had that same situation. I knew of it all those years, but never truly acknowledged it.

This is why I’ve been so adamant on here and on FB about running and living in fear of certain political insanity going on. Am I gravely concerned over what will happen in this country? Hell yeah. Am I running? If I successfully make it to Europe next year, it’s really only partly running. It’s my choice to go for school, and was something I wanted long before the election happened. I will still retain my citizenship and right to vote. Here’s the thing: we can’t remain silent like I did. I know that hell. I know what it feels like to live in fear. I refuse to go back to that. I refuse to let my friends fall into that.

Today I was called brave. I don’t see a brave person when I look in the mirror. I see a woman who has had the past 22 years of her life in a sort of stasis. I see a woman who is still unsure of how to handle being in society. I see the pain. I now see PTSD. Something I had not seen until recent events. I was getting to where I thought I could loosen my boundaries. Then the recent incident happened and the walls grew again. Walls that were slowly lowering are now taller than I could imagine. My trust in someone is broken. That moment sent me into a shut-down mode. Something survivors do. We try to block things out… but those things cut deeper the longer we try to block them out. I thought I had been managing it well, but not as well as I hoped.

I am doing what I can to keep going right now. It isn’t enough, but all I can do is try. So I lay my soul out to show others. I am imperfect. I am human. But I am not afraid. I just need help to keep my home, my sanctuary, my belongings, safe as I heal and keep working on moving forward.

I took part in a video shoot with my group interviewing the creator of Dawn Of The Unread James Walker and illustrator of the Wise Men of Gotham series John ‘Brick‘ Clark.

My main role was to pose questions to each interviewee in view of how best to put across the relevant information to the potential investors and gain their interest and enthusiasm.

I felt the shoot went well although I feel we’d have benefited by having a dialogue with the interviewees before going straight into the shoot. There was some confusion with the format of the interview in that I was expecting to be asking questions on film whereas we ended up just letting the interviewees generally discuss areas of the project of their own accord without question and answer approach.

Practical sessions like this are not my strong suit and I do find them quite stressful as I feel out of my element and can easily be flustered by last minute changes leaving me feeling unprepared and unsure of what exactly I should be doing. I perform well when I am confident and I never feel confident when I’m working in what is for me uncharted waters. I feel with more experience I would grow more confident and be able to perform more effectively.

Kasia’s research aims to improve sustainable acute care health delivery for an ageing population, while her clinical experience includes general medical and acute palliative care. In her PhD, Kasia developed an approach to measure nurse-sensitive outcomes, which is currently being used to evaluate a Government-funded implementation of a cognitive identifier. Kasia has a passion for identifying and researching the structures and processes which impede or enable quality patient care, and sharing her learning and inquiry with nursing students, industry and professional groups. Here, Palliverse asks her about her latest research project and dipping her toe into the world of social media.

Dr Kasia Bail (image via Dr Bail)

Your research has led to a new concept in the care of older people with complex medical problems, “Failure to Maintain”. What does this mean?

‘Failure to Maintain’ is the inadequate delivery of fundamental (also often called ‘basic’) nursing care to a complex older person in hospital. ‘Failure to Maintain’ can be measured by the patient outcomes including in one of four common, but potentially preventable, complications: urinary tract infection, pressure ulcers, pneumonia and delirium. (The name is derived from another term used to assess hospital quality: ‘Failure to Rescue’, where inpatients die after a complication in hospital.)

This new term gives a name to the challenges in providing simple interventions (such as mobility, skin care, hydration, nutrition and communication) in complex environments (such as hospitals) to complex patients (such as people with dementia). We know that when demand for nursing care exceeds supply, patient care is rationed. We also know that the care most often rationed is essential cares such as mobility, skin care, hydration, nutrition and communication – this is not unreasonable necessarily as acute health settings do need to prioritise life-threatening conditions first. However, we need indicators of care before patients get to the life-threatening stage, particularly given that most hospital admissions include chronic, as well as acute, conditions.

Finding a way to measure this rationing, as well as setting suitable methods for achieving quality bedside care, will be important for the future efficiency of healthcare. Above all, we can work towards systematic ways to reduce the unnecessary suffering of people in hospital.

“Above all, we can work towards systematic ways to reduce the unnecessary suffering of people in hospital.”

How has your research backed up this concept?

I found that people with dementia – who are a classic example of a complex older patient – have nearly three times the rate of these hospital-acquired complications than people without dementia. I found that 21.9% of patients with dementia experienced an hospital-acquired complication, and people with dementia spent 8 times longer in hospital that people without dementia. Acquiring one of these complications in hospital added 26% to costs for people with dementia and doubled the cost for people without dementia.

There is an assumption that it is the age of the population and the increasing comorbidities that are expensive, but in my research I identified that dementia diagnosis and the presence of complications during admission affected the cost of hospital stays more than comorbidities or age. This research was looking at all patients over the age of 50 in public hospitals in NSW in 2006/07.

What is the next phase of your research?

I want to compare the approach that I used to examine these complications (known as the ‘Needleman approach’ to counting which complications were hospital acquired) with the approach currently used by IHPA (the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority) and the Commission (the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care), called ‘condition onset flags’. I want to refine the science in measuring these outcomes using more recent data from 2014/15, and continue to analyse them in relation to the nursing evidence about processes of patient care delivery.

You are crowdfunding for the next stage of your research – what led you to try this?

I was pretty reluctant to even use much social media in my work, let alone ask for money! But I participated in the ‘Three minute thesis’ (3MT) most years of my PhD and found it very helpful for my thinking and communication skills.

(I actually really liked having 5 years and 90,000 words to work out, and communicate, my thoughts. 3 minutes for the 3MT, let alone 140 characters for a Tweet….. these are all against my grain! But I can’t claim to be a Dr of Philosophy if I can’t learn new things : ).

Our University progressed the 3MT into a post-PhD style 90-second ‘Pitch for Funds’ (P4F). I was one of 4 winners! It was great that there were 4 of us, but it meant we had to share the prize money, as none of us had what we had asked for to run our project. So our Research and Development Guru aka Melanie Haines roped us all in encouraged and enabled us, to do Crowdfunding. And in the process taught us (and gave us a purpose to) Tweet.

I’ve always tried to keep my social and work life a bit separate – sometimes I think that this is functional coping mechanism with nursing work. However, I realised at any social gathering I will tell anybody who will listen about my nursing research, and how suffering could be prevented. So if I’ll do it at dinners and bars, why not on blogs and internet spaces?! I do truly want to make a difference for people suffering unnecessarily in hospital, so if this is one way to achieve that, I’ll give it a try.

You are hoping to raise $5 444 – how will you use it to help your research? And how do you hope it will improve the care of older people?

The money will be used to apply for and access the large historical datasets of Australian hospitals held at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. There is often quite a bit of administrative work (and time = money!) to make sure the data set is accurate, holds only the information required for the analysis, and is appropriately de-identified. The money will also be used to employ analysts and researchers to run the inquiries, as the more statistically minded people who start looking at these issues I have identified, the greater the scope for broader involvement and development of research, policy and practice. I want to lead non-nursing researchers in examining these significant issues for the health system, because I don’t believe this is a nursing problem.

I know that using the ‘big’ (-ish) data might seem a long way away from the patient experience, but I know that a lot of the scaremongering about the costs and ‘epidemic’ of old people in our health system needs suitable insight and analysis to address them. Nursing care is currently invisible in many of the quality indicators and costing analysis, and minimally funded in terms of research grants. And yet, each and every patient intervention, care and treatment will pass through the hands of a nurse in order to reach a patient. Reorienting analysis to look at nursing care as an intervention, rather than just a labour cost, will be essential as we move into many future decades of having increased older populations. These are the three largest most expensive populations in health care: older people, hospitals and nurses. Getting the right data to inform development of the right systems to meet the needs of the largest population needing health care is the most caring thing that needs to be done for older people right now.

“…[Let’s] look at nursing care as an intervention, rather than just a labour cost…”

With so many success stories of tech giants, budding entrepreneurs dream of creating another Google or Facebook. Before taking the leap, they should follow these suggestions:

Have adequate knowledge – Starting a fast-growing tech business is incredibly challenging, and requires a variety of skills. The time you take for studying, allows you to explore your talents and find the one thing you really excel at. Don’t believe the myth of the college dropout who becomes successful entrepreneur. Building up a company, leading a team and sustaining a highly successful international business is hard work and requires a lot of knowledge.

Meet like-minded people – Spending time with ambitious and like-minded people will shape your actions. If you engage with friends or acquaintances who are developers, designers, entrepreneurs, and work for different kinds of start-ups, their experiences and knowledge will give you proper direction towards your goal. Surround yourself with mentors who are founders, CEOs, industry leaders to learn more about trends and important topics.

Select right co-founders – For starting an IT company, you more than likely need a developer, a user interface/visual designer, one marketing person, and a finance person. With this kind of team, you can start your business.

Pick the right location – Depending on your new business, location does matter. If you are an Internet/software business, take care you pick a location that helps you to start. San Francisco is the number one choice for techies, but the costs of living are incredibly high and you will compete with the world’s most successful tech businesses for talent.

Analyse your ideas carefully – Challenge every single idea with your team to the extreme. Be aware that most ideas that seem great in the first place, are either already taken or not so great once you’ve challenged them further. Finding best idea is about identifying the problems, and finding clever ways to fix them.

Follow the trends – In technology, you have follow the trends, whether it is cloud or software-as-a-service. You want to create something that stays and adds value to people’s lives, both your customers and your employees.

Prepare yourself to fail – Starting a tech business is hard. You will experience unbelievable lows, including running out of money, or seeing important people leaving or shutting down a business you worked so hard for. If you build a software product, you need to be prepared for downtimes or bugs.

Focus on learning, not on earning – While it’s critical to become deeply skilled in one area of the business, the required skill-set to start and run a company is much more varied. Starting a tech business requires a strong sense for products, timing, trends and markets, which you can only acquire through experience.

Find investors– When everything is in place, the next crucial task is to find the financers to fund your venture. You can reach out individual investors through your social contacts or approach banks. Before setting up meetings with them, you must be ready with your business plan to convince them how their money put in your business has potential to multiply.

]]>https://ilccyberreport.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/crowd-funding-helps-oldest-pearl-harbor-survivor-return-for-75th-anniversary/
Wed, 07 Dec 2016 08:06:19 +0000Adminhttps://ilccyberreport.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/crowd-funding-helps-oldest-pearl-harbor-survivor-return-for-75th-anniversary/Today marks the 75th anniversary of the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor that killed more than 2,400 and propelled the United States into World War II. There are fewer than 2,000 survivors of the attack alive today. Last year only seven veterans were healthy enough to attend the anniversary services at the USS Arizona Memorial.

One of them, Ray Chavez of San Diego County who at 104 is the oldest living Pearl Harbor vet, will be returning thanks to the Rotary Club of Poway-Scripp and their GoFundMe campaign that has helped raise money to enable Chavez, his family and other vets to return.

The campaign has raised almost a third of its $30,000 goal, I hope you will join me in supporting this cause. Thanks to CBS cameraman Justin O’Brien for the tip.

As the son of World War II vet, I also you will remember this important day and the courage and sacrifice of our Greatest Generation. Let us remain dedicated to the cause they so valiantly advanced.

]]>https://thegreatpenguini.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/determined-dragon-is-still-concerned-crowdfunding/
Wed, 07 Dec 2016 05:58:21 +0000The Great Penguinihttps://thegreatpenguini.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/determined-dragon-is-still-concerned-crowdfunding/Yes, still crowdfunding… still trying not to panic…. please share or spread the word somehow…

Am I annoying you yet? Oh, that would be more like that one day a few months back when I was posting at least one post an hour all day long. That was amusing, exhausting, but hey… I spewed a lot random stuff… and I think that’s where “Dragon” was born.

My nickname has been Penguin since around 1997 or so. Hence the whole “Great Penguini” and all that. It’s hard to believe that in a couple of months, it will be a full 20 years of that nickname. Now the Dragon side of me is taking over…. kinda. I’m still Penguin, but Dragon lets me be shameless and grouchy and mad at life in a way that cute little penguins wouldn’t be allowed to.

I am this quirky geek who has lived longer than I expected to, gotten more education than expected to, and heave beaten the odds with a few other things in life. I’m still here, but I have never felt as if I was fully here and part of society. I’ve had enough on my plate the last couple of years in dealing with grad school and my father’s death simultaneously. He passed away near the end of my first semester. I’ve felt like I’ve been falling apart slowly -piece by piece- ever since.

While I’m nearing the end of school, I also feel like I can’t keep up with my own stuff, even though it’s all fairly easy. I’ve mentioned the brain fog, at least in my poetry and on FB… some of it is stress, some is depression, and the rest of it…. don’t know. Add to that mix the trigger a couple weeks ago of my past. Things I felt were more settled and I could move forward finally. Piling that on top of my “normal” stress of job hunting, school, keeping myself and my cats fed, wrangling up rent money and storage rent money to keep my stuff from getting auctioned off… and then that happened. As much as I’ve been trying to keep appearances up and just focus on everything else, I can’t.

I’ve hit my breaking point. I’m trying to breathe, but feel like I’m drowning in life.

I am not broken, but I am barely holding myself together. My cats, my stuff both in the apartment and in storage… they’re all I have. They are part of me and part of my identity. That’s why I can’t just let go of the stuff in storage. Most of it is stuff I purchased with plans in mind. Things that grabbed me emotionally. Things I knew had to be part of my life. It sounds silly to people who don’t collect. The people who have a nice tidy little space for every little thing they own. I’m not one of those people… I’m just this person who has stuff she needs to hold on to. Maybe that’s partly why the Dragon persona is so strong… dragons are known as collectors of things that attract them.

I do my best to keep it together… but I am not perfect. I am not some amazing wonder. I know I’ll get through this latest volley that life has thrown onto the pile. I just hope I can find a little clarity soon so that I can finish the other things I need to get done ASAP… then continue to finish school, find work successfully… and all that. Then maybe I can keep working on healing. I just need a little help getting there.

Thank you for following me along in my madness…. my silliness.

~Dragon

]]>https://doingitwright.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/on-giving-and-receiving/
Wed, 07 Dec 2016 05:04:06 +0000Richard Wrighthttps://doingitwright.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/on-giving-and-receiving/https://rejuvenaction.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/crowdfunding-against-senescent-cells-on-lifespan-io/
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 16:23:36 +0000Nicolahttps://rejuvenaction.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/crowdfunding-against-senescent-cells-on-lifespan-io/
Today, Lifespan.io has launched a new crowdfunding campaign: CellAge: Targeting Senescent Cells With Synthetic Biology. As you may know, senescent cells are a major driver of a number of age-related diseases, and therefore a prime target for any respectable rejuvenation biotech platform. CellAge, a biotech company based in Edinburgh, aims to design synthetic promoters for safe and precise targeting of senescent cells, with the goal of developing senolytic gene therapies to remove them. Please, consider helping them with a donation—big or small, every dollar counts—and by spreading the word!

]]>https://nguyenlehoangviet.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/roommate-my-latest-short-film-go-crowdfunding-part-1/
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 15:45:33 +0000nguyenlehoangviethttps://nguyenlehoangviet.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/roommate-my-latest-short-film-go-crowdfunding-part-1/Dear friends of mine from all around the world,

As you might know, I have launched my latest short film project called ROOMMATE on a Vietnamese crowdfunding platform last month, on November 11th. It’s the first time an independent short film project calling for crowdfunding in Vietnam. Since this type of financing is still very new in my country, my team and I are trying to utilized as many tools as possible to spread out the news and share our story. This wordpress is my personal blog but now it will become the official English page for the crowdfunding campaign of ROOMMATE.

Please spend one minute of your time to read some key points of our story – or at least, take a look at our promising teaser video of ROOMMATE!

Roommate (Vietnamese title: Bạn Cùng Phòng) is a surreal drama short film about self-identity and the need for human connection. It tells the story of Phan – a lonesome banker who goes to a strange hotel with the search for special companionship on Christmas eve, but a small mistake leads him to an even more special encounter with another man – Lam – a mysterious dancer with origami talent. As the journey goes on, Phan explores many interesting yet dangerous things about this dancer, about this hotel and about himself.

Originally presented in Autumn Meeting workshop of 2014 (http://autumnmeeting.com/), Roommate (back then called Roommate Service) was given recognition from award-winning director Tran Anh-HUNG for its rich potentials. In the short film projects section, Roommate won the Short film of the future award for outstanding new short project, judged by Tran Anh Hung together with two famous Vietnamese directors: Bui Thac Chuyen and Phan Dang Di.

It took me one year to finish the script for Roommate, after eight rewrites. And it took even longer for the crew to find the right cast for the story. We have gone through the profiles of more than 100 actors and actresses, met in person more than half of them and finally found our talents. The special thing is they are willing to invest their time and salary into the project, instead of working for money and fame, our talents joined the project because they are passionate about the story and working with us – young independent filmmakers. It’s also the case for most crew members – who work for Roommate because they love making films and they have some free time.

The first shooting phase of Roommate happened on a cold night of December 2015 – almost one year ago. I borrowed my friend’s car for the prop, we drove around the city for 6 hours and kept shooting until we got the shots. We managed to get the night scenes with a crew of 8 people including talent. It was a great start for Roommate, although we couldn’t continue shooting the rest of the script due to financial restriction.

Roommate has had a long pause in production from January to July 2016. During this time, I revised the script and looked for new crew members, since some key people had to move on with their works and life plans. Fortunately, I met with Josh Levy and Nguyen Le Hang – two producers who are interesting in creating something new in Hanoi’s filmmaking scene. Together with 3 other cinematographers friends, we co-founded ‘ever rolling films’ – a production house based in Hanoi and restarted the Roommate project under the name of our newly-born company…

I will continue the story of the 2nd shooting phase in the next blog entry.

How to support Roommate – the first short film in Vietnam go crowdfunding?

So in short, we need your help to raise funds to complete the 3rd phase of shooting and finish the film. The money will go mostly to the fixed cost of location rental, special camera and lighting equipment, production design, catering and post production expense (visual effects, sound design and mixing, color grading, hardware costs, etc). Most of the crew work voluntarily however we also plan to compensate the cast with a small amount for their long-term dedication so far. Big or small, any support from you means a lot to us and would bring us a little closer to the completed film.

For Vietnamese readers, you can easily find the information about the perks of this campaign on the page: http://www.fundstart.vn/du-an/ban-cung-phong. Depending on your reading devices, the perks list should appear in the left side of the screen (for PC and Mac) or on the center of the page (for mobile devices). The site uses a money transfer service for supporters to send donation via their domestic ATM cards. The VISA option, unfortunately is not supported yet.

For English-speaking readers, you can send your donation package via Paypal or bank account as following:

This account could receive transfer from most banks in the world. When you transfer, please note your email in the message so we could send you updates of the campaign and your rewards in case of successful funding.

Here’s the perks list for you to choose:

Combo 1- $5 – ‘Something’s gotta give’

01 lovely postcard with film still and thank you note from the director

Special mention with thanks in the ending credit

Combo 2- $10 – ‘Ten things I hate about you’

All of above perks plus:

Roommate Scriptbook in PDF format sent to your email

Combo 3- $25 – ‘Age of Innocence’

All of above perks plus:

01 ticket to the premiere night and Q&A session with the crew

Combo 4- $75 – ‘Goodfellas’

All of above perks plus:

01 DVD with behind-the-scenes materials and director’s autograph

01 beautiful Roommate T-shirts

Combo 5- $150 – ‘A fistful of dollars’

All of above perks plus:

01 beautiful key-shaped USB stick with Roommate logo (8GB)

Private link to watch the film as many times as you want after film festivals circuit

Combo 6 – $300 – ‘300’

All of above perks plus:

01 Beautiful handbag with Roommate logo

Combo 7- $400 – ‘Godfather’

All of above perks plus:

01 beautiful Money note plate designed privately for the film (1:1 ratio)

Combo 8- $500 – ‘Dinner with Andre’

All of above perks plus:

Dinner with director Nguyen Le Hoang Viet at a cozy restaurant for a conversation about arts, life and more

Combo 9- $1000 – ‘Goldfinger’

All of above perks plus:

01 beautiful hand drawing portrait by artist Tidus Fair Supertramp

Combo 10- $2000 – ‘Skyfall’

All of above perks plus:

01 amazing handmade miniature set of shooting location: the ROOM

If you have questions about how to support us or about the film, please leave comment or send email to me at: vietnguyen@everrolling.com. Please share with your friends and networks. Thank you so very much!

Entitled “Ensuring Crowdfunding Success As An Indie Artist: And How To Sustain Your Career Without a Label,” TJ shares valuable insight gained over numerous campaigns during various stages of the band’s career.

“The success of a campaign isn’t reliant on what platform you use at all, it’s reliant on the dedication of your fans. There are so many great sites to choose from, and it’s all about finding the right fit for your needs at the right stage of your career. Many bands miss that main point. We have maintained our career because we have literally spent years building our own ‘crowd’ of incredible zombies! When we kicked off our current campaign, the same few super-fans who donated to that first indiegogo were some of the FIRST people to contribute.They are the key to our continued success, and I can’t wait to see how we keep growing together!”

To learn about TND’s current crowdfunding campaign to support their forthcoming ‘Day of the Deads’ EP, which features “My Evil Ways” and “Diamond in the Rough,” visit PledgeMusic.com/TheNearlyDeads

]]>https://financialinstitutionsnews.com/2016/12/06/fca-consults-on-regulatory-fees-and-levies/
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 11:26:03 +0000Emma Radmorehttps://financialinstitutionsnews.com/2016/12/06/fca-consults-on-regulatory-fees-and-levies/FCA is consulting on policy proposals for regulatory fees and levies in 2017/18. The main areas in which it proposes to increase its fees are to cover its costs of tackling illegal money laundering and of implementing the MiFID 2 package. It notes it will keep under review all its proposals in light of Brexit. It asks for comments by 16 January 2017
]]>https://theartistspartner.com/2016/12/06/troubleshooting-your-campaign-low-pre-launch-enthusiasm/
Tue, 06 Dec 2016 11:00:17 +0000bethanyjoycarlsonhttps://theartistspartner.com/2016/12/06/troubleshooting-your-campaign-low-pre-launch-enthusiasm/Ideally, the buzz about a crowdfunding campaign builds during the months leading up to launch. We recommend our clients use the “Rule of 7” to their advantage – to share their campaign in seven unique and engaging ways. If all goes according to plan, this seven-part communication strategy leads to an increasing level of enthusiasm among their prospective backers that peaks at launch.

You may read more about the “Rule of Seven”, a core marketing principle, in this post.

But what to do if, instead of feeling like a thrilling countdown, the Rule of 7 feels like a forced march? If social media posts are getting fewer and fewer responses, emails are met with “unsubscribe” clicks, and it feels like the message isn’t being heard – or worse, ignored?

Check the internal enthusiasm meter. Sometimes, our clients’ natural anxiety about their crowdfunding campaign (it’s a big deal!) can spiral into dread. This is untenable, since aversion is contagious, no matter how carefully the words are chosen – the campaign owner’s feelings about their campaign will seep out and influence others. So if you find yourself feeling afraid of your campaign, it’s time to take a time-out to love on it. Do your best to extend your warm feelings about your project to the process of funding it. (This can be hard. You can do it.)

Share your message in your own voice. Sometimes our clients get very awkward when they start conversations with their networks about their upcoming crowdfunding campaign. Friendly banter is replaced by stilted pronouncements. It is off-putting. Remember, you are just working your key message – “Preorder my [genre] [title] on [platform] [date]” – into the conversation. You can say that in your voice.

Don’t bury the lead. When our clients draft their first Facebook post about their campaign, it is, on average, four paragraphs long. Worse, often their key message – “Preorder my [genre] [title] on [platform] [date]” – only shows up at the end. It’s natural to want to explain, tell the whole story of the project, and attempt to cajole enthusiasm, but boredom never won any backers. Get to the point.

Improve the call to action. On a related note: most communiques about the campaign should have a call to action beyond “wait for my campaign”. This could be to sign up for a newsletter, help with a campaign event, give feedback on draft cover art or a poster. Make it clear, with each communication, what you want the recipient to do. And if you make sure that it is something enjoyable and within their capacity, they are likely to actually do it.

Include images – especially of faces. People respond to images nearly 10x more than text, and to faces nearly 10x more than other images. Including a picture of your face in a social media post or email means it will likely be 100x more effective than without. Our clients often reject this idea. We tell them to get over it.

Get personal. No successful campaign was built on mass communications alone. No tweet or newsletter will engender enthusiasm like a one-on-one coffee date. Make time for individual conversations – via text, Skype, phone, or in person. More often than not, these people you’ve told about your campaign in person will be the people who go on to like and share your message in other ways.

Marketing your campaign is work, but it shouldn’t feel like a slog. Slow days are fine, but if the trend is toward getting stuck, back up and review the tactics above to get your message back on track.

If you would like a free personalized diagnostic of your crowdfunding idea – a $125 value! – please fill out our Artist Questionnaire. We typically respond within two weeks.